Which returned more over the last year, HDV or SDY?

In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, HDV returned +29.4% and SDY +16.5%.

Which is cheaper, HDV or SDY?

HDV is cheaper, by 0.27 percentage points a year. That is about $27 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

How much do HDV and SDY overlap with the S&P 500?

By their latest filed holdings, 90% of HDV and 84% of SDY by weight is stocks the S&P 500 already holds.

Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

Across categories

HDV vs SDY: Differences, Returns & Fees

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Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, HDV returned +29.4% to SDY's +16.5%; 26% of their weight is in the same names.

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Net assets on Oct 27, 2026: $15.9bn for iShares Core High Dividend ETF and $21.9bn for State Street SPDR S&P Dividend ETF.

HDV on its own →SDY on its own →

At a glance

+29.4%

HDV total return, 1 year

+16.5%

SDY total return, 1 year

0.08%

HDV expense ratio

0.35%

SDY expense ratio

Pair scorecard

HDV costs 0.27 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 12.9 points; SDY is 1.4 times larger.

HDV vs SDY: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	HDV	SDY
Return
Measure	HDV	SDY
Total return, 1 year	+29.4%	+16.5%
Benchmark
Measure	HDV	SDY
What it tracks	Morningstar Dividend Yield Focus Index	S&P High Yield Dividend Aristocrats Index
Cost and size
Measure	HDV	SDY
Expense ratio	0.08%	0.35%
Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026	$15.9bn	$21.9bn
Holdings
Measure	HDV	SDY
Holdings in common	26%
Top ten holdings, share of the fund	55.6%	20.4%

Holdings in common uses holdings dated Oct 27, 2026. Method

Risk and return

Apr 8, 2011 to Oct 23, 2026 · 811 weekly returns

HDV SDY

Return

Total return edge HDV (slight) +414.1% +395.9%

Annualized edge HDV (slight) +11.1% +10.8%

Price return edge HDV (slight) +197.8% +192.7%

Risk

Volatility edge HDV (slight) 13.9% 15.2%

Max drawdown edge SDY (slight) −33.4% −32.4%

Risk-adjusted

Sharpe edge HDV (slight) 0.71 0.65

Sortino edge HDV (slight) 1.00 0.93

Calmar edge Tie 0.33 0.33

Reading

HDV returned slightly more: +414.1% to +395.9%. HDV swung slightly less: 13.9% to 15.2%. SDY fell slightly less at its worst: −32.4% to −33.4%.

Full scorecard

9 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓

Risk and return: HDV vs SDY: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	HDV	SDY	Edge	How it is measured
Return
Total return	+414.1%	+395.9%	HDV (slight)	Price change plus distributions, reinvested.
Annualized	+11.1%	+10.8%	HDV (slight)	Total return as a yearly rate.
Price return	+197.8%	+192.7%	HDV (slight)	Price change alone, distributions left out.
Risk
Volatility	13.9%	15.2%	HDV (slight)	Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier.
Downside deviation	9.8%	10.6%	HDV (slight)	Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate.
Max drawdown	−33.4%	−32.4%	SDY (slight)	Deepest fall from a high to the low after it.
Risk-adjusted
Sharpe	0.71	0.65	HDV (slight)	Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility.
Sortino	1.00	0.93	HDV (slight)	Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation.
Calmar	0.33	0.33	Tie	Annualized return divided by the max drawdown.

Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 811 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.

What they share

26%

By the books each fund has filed, HDV and SDY hold 26% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Oct 27, 2026.

50%

0 half 100%

half

26% in common

Positions both hold · largest shared weight first HDV SDY

VERIZON COMMUNICATIONS INC 5.12% 2.81%

CHEVRON 7.22% 2.15%

PEPSICO 3.89% 1.82%

MEDTRONIC PLC 1.83% 1.79%

EXXONMOBIL HOLDINGS CORP 9.48% 1.49%

PROCTER & GAMBLE 5.46% 1.34%

ABBVIE 6.77% 1.32%

SOUTHERN 1.83% 1.30%

COCA-COLA 4.26% 1.23%

ABBOTT LABORATORIES 2.06% 1.21%

NEXTERA ENERGY 2.54% 1.11%

MCDONALDS CORP 2.55% 1.10%

Only in one fund ↓

Only in HDV

PHILIP MORRIS INTERNATIONAL 5.04%

HOME DEPOT 4.57%

ALTRIA GROUP INC 3.75%

AMGEN INC 2.78%

CONOCOPHILLIPS 2.21%

BLACKSTONE 1.64%

PNC FINANCIAL SERVICES GROUP 1.47%

STARBUCKS CORP 1.38%

Only in SDY

ACCENTURE PLC CL A 3.73%

REALTY INCOME CORP 1.94%

TARGET CORP 1.59%

AUTOMATIC DATA PROCESSING 1.55%

NIKE INC CL B 1.51%

BECTON DICKINSON AND CO 1.50%

CONSOLIDATED EDISON INC 1.40%

LOCKHEED MARTIN CORP 1.39%

Check overlap with more funds →

Side by side

HDV iShares Core High Dividend ETF SDY State Street SPDR S&P Dividend ETF

Where it sits Stock ETF Stock ETF

Issuer iShares State Street

What it is Tracks an index of High Dividend Tracks the S&P Dividend

Total return, 1 year +29.4% +16.5%

Expense ratio 0.08% 0.35%

Already in the S&P 500 89.5% 84.4%

Holdings 77 156

Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026 $15.9bn $21.9bn

HDV and SDY on the fields both publish, as of Oct 28, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.

Client brief · page 1 of 2 Report BR-20A0DAA1F7

HDV and SDY do different jobs. What does each one do in a portfolio?

What each follows. HDV follows Morningstar Dividend Yield Focus Index and SDY follows S&P High Yield Dividend Aristocrats Index.
Holdings in common. 26% of the weight is in the same securities (holdings dated Oct 27, 2026).
One-year total return. Over 1 year to Oct 28, 2026 HDV returned +29.4% and SDY +16.5% with distributions reinvested, a gap of 12.9 points.

Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

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About each fund

HDV

HDV tracks an index of High Dividend. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +29.4% with distributions reinvested. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.08% a year. By its holdings published by its issuer for Oct 27, 2026, 90% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 77 positions, with the top ten at 55.6%.

SDY

SDY tracks the S&P Dividend. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +16.5% with distributions reinvested. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.35% a year. By its holdings published by its issuer for Oct 27, 2026, 84% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 156 positions, with the top ten at 20.4%.

Questions people ask

Which returned more over the last year, HDV or SDY?: In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, HDV returned +29.4% and SDY +16.5%.
Which is cheaper, HDV or SDY?: HDV is cheaper, by 0.27 percentage points a year. That is about $27 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
How much do HDV and SDY overlap with the S&P 500?: By their latest filed holdings, 90% of HDV and 84% of SDY by weight is stocks the S&P 500 already holds.

Other comparisons

HDV vs RSP COWZ vs HDV HDV vs NOBL FDL vs HDV SDY vs SPHD PVAL vs SDY AVLV vs SDY SDY vs VLUE

Where to next

HDV on its own →SDY on its own →Hold both: look the portfolio through →Rankings →HDV dividend history →HDV holdings →SDY dividend history →SDY holdings →Standards and sources →

Sources and dates

HDV filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

HDV prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

iShares page for HDV ↗

SDY filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

SDY prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

State Street website ↗

Links are sources, not endorsements. A comparison is not a recommendation.

How this is computed

Overlap adds up the smaller of the two weights for each security both funds hold.

Cite this pageCitation, APA and Markdown

ETFIQ, HDV against SDY, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/hdv-vs-sdy

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